Pat McQuaid says Lance Armstrong's confession is "an important step" in repairing cycling and insists there was no conspiracy involving the UCI

The American, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year, finally confessed to years of doping in a no holds barred television interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Following his admission, McQuaid said: "Lance Armstrong's decision finally to confront his past is an important step forward on the long road to repairing the damage that has been caused to cycling and to restoring confidence in the sport.

"Lance Armstrong has confirmed there was no collusion or conspiracy between the UCI and Lance Armstrong. There were no positive tests which were covered up and he has confirmed that the donations made to the UCI were to assist in the fight against doping."

The UCI has established an independent commission to investigate claims of collusion made by USADA, but the inquiry, which is yet to begin, has already been hit by political disputes.

McQuaid added: "It was disturbing to watch him describe a litany of offences including among others doping throughout his career, leading a team that doped, bullying, consistently lying to everyone and producing a backdated medical prescription to justify a test result.

"However, Lance Armstrong also rightly said that cycling is a completely different sport today than it was 10 years ago. In particular the UCI's introduction of the biological passport in 2008 - the first sports federation to do so - has made a real difference in the fight against doping.

"Finally, we note that Lance Armstrong expressed a wish to participate in a truth and reconciliation process, which we would welcome."